(1) Simpson,Ron (2347) - Lamby,Philipp (2240) [C52] Border Battle Asheboro, NC (1), 18.04.2009 [Chris Mabe] Hi everyone. I'm going to place a few of my comments down while I watch game one. I hope everyone enjoys the match. Go NC! 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 I was just telling one of my students that this move is hardly ever played because of the Evan's gambit, or maybe because the 2 knights defense seems more active. It's a good move though. 4.b4 And here it is. This should be exciting. A few months ago I had my computer play a match with itself in the Evan's and white won 16/20 games. 4...Bxb4 Played like a man. [4...Bb6 This is not an unreasonable way to play if you're scared of taking the pawn. 5.b5 Nd4 6.Nxd4 Bxd4 (6...exd4 ) 7.c3 Bb6 8.d4 ] 5.c3 Ba5 [5...Bd6 This is an interesting move.] 6.d4 d6 7.Qb3 Qd7 8.dxe5 Bb6 Black is threatening Na5. 9.Bb5 This has all been played before, but if white has to play this move then something has gone wrong in my opinion. White's position relys on speedy development and the initiative so following basic principles will give an indication that maybe there is something better. Chess is a difficult game though and it does not pay to be too dogmatic when accessing a position. Ron thought for a few minutes so perhaps this position is a bit unfamiliar to him. [This move is more in the spirit of the gambit. White just develops, ignoring black's threat. [9.Nbd2 Na5 10.Qc2 Nxc4 11.Nxc4 This seems to be slightly better for white though blacks 2 bishops could be dangerous if black is allowed to unravel] 9...a6 10.Ba4 Bc5 I think Phillip is handling the opening quite well. 11.Qc2 [11.c4 This seems necessary.] 11...b5! Phillip is starting to take over the initiative. 12.Bb3 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 dxe5 14.0-0 Nf6 15.Bg5 Bb7 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.c4 Rg8 Black's position is much better. He has all the dynamic chances, he's up a pawn, and he has the 2 bishops. The game has gone bad for Ron, but you can't count him out because black has to play accurately. If he tries for to much dynamism then any mistake could be costly. It possible that Ron is provoking Phillip rather than defending a quiet position down a pawn. 18.g3 Qh3 19.Rd1 Yep, I would say that Ron is purposfuly allowing the game to become sharper. 19...f5 Exactly! Black is ripping open that diagonal. f4 is also a threat since f3 is threatened, and if white plays f3 then he would be in check so that's probably not going to happen. 19...f5 20.Rd5! This is a great practical move! Ron is fighting back. He is trying to not get mated, but he is doing it in a way that poses a few problems to black. f4 wants to be played, but would the black king be safe? 20...Bxd5 This is the simple way to play. 21.cxd5 f4 Game over maybe? g3 is falling. 22.Qc3 fxg3 The pawn on f2 is pinned. 23.Qxe5+ Kf8 0-1

(2) Lamby,Philipp (2240) - Simpson,Ron (2347) [B70] Border Battle Asheboro, NC (2), 18.04.2009 [Chris Mabe] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 The dragon. These guys are here to fight. 6.Be2 Bg7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Kh1 Nc6 9.Nb3 stopping d5 ideas 9...a5 this is a very common move when a knight lands on b3 [9...a6 with the idea of b5 is also reasonable] 10.a4 Be6 11.Bg5 Bxb3!? This is an interesting idea the create an imbalance in the position the battle is now between black's structure and whites bishops. 12.cxb3 Nb4 13.Qd2 Rc8 14.f3 d5 15.Bxf6?! My dubious symbol may not be completely justified since I haven't actually delved into the finer aspects of the position, but this move is definately not the one that wants to be played. If the position ever takes on a static nature the black will be better. Phillip thought for a long time here so we'll have to wait and see what he has in mind. 15...Bxf6 16.Nxd5 Kg7 [The endgame after 16...Rc2 17.Nxf6+ exf6 18.Qxd8 (18.Qe3 Qd2 19.Qxd2 Rxd2 This is better for black too.) 18...Rxd8 would favor black.] 17.Rad1= Rc2 18.Qe3 Qd6 19.Nxb4 Qxb4 20.e5 [20.Bc4 seems natural.] 20...Bg5 I think I like black a little better. Either my relay if bad or Phillip is taking a long time on this move. There was an article in Chess Life a couple of years ago that said if you think for more than 20 minutes then you're probably going to make a mistake. I'm not sure how much I believe that but I'm sure there is some truth to it. 21.f4 My relay was bad. After I refreshed 10 more moves had been played. 21...Bh6 [21...Bxf4 22.Rxf4 Rxe2 23.Rxb4 Rxe3 24.Rxb7 Re8 25.Kg1 Rxe5 26.b4 This might have been a good alternative but I wouldn't have played it because I probably would not have liked all those pawns on the queenside.] 22.Bc4 Rxb2 23.Qd4 [23.e6 f6 24.Rd7 looks strong for white.] 23...Rc2 24.f5 Rd2 25.f6+ exf6 26.exf6+ this looks dangerous for black. I hope Ron holds this game. It's not good for NC if the SC champ keeps grabbing the initiative like this. 26...Kg8 27.Rxd2 Bxd2 28.Qd5 Bc3 29.h4 Qb6 30.Qg5 This reminds me a bit of game 1. 30...Re8 31.Qh6 [31.h5?? runs into 31...Re5 32.Qh6 Rxh5+ ; 31.Rf3? Re1+ 32.Bf1 (32.Kh2 Qg1+ 33.Kh3 Qh1+ 34.Kg4 Qxg2+ ) ] 31...Bxf6 32.Bxf7+ Kxf7 33.Qxh7+ Kf8 White can force a perpetual if he wants since the bishop is pinned. Going to the e file is a bad idea. 34.Qh8+ Kf7 [34...Kf7 35.Qh7+ Ke6 King's can't survive without pawn cover when being attacked by a Q+R. 36.Re1+ Kf5 37.Qd7+ Re6 38.g4+ There would have to be a mate somewhere.] 1/2-1/2

(3) Lamby,Philipp (2240) - Simpson,Ron (2347) [B22] Border Battle Asheboro, NC (3), 19.04.2009 [Chris Mabe] Well it's 8:20 am and I've got my coffee so I'm ready for te games to begin. I thought that yesterday was a very good day for Phillip. He dominated the first 2 games. I'll bet that Ron has put a lot of thought into what strategy to adopt today. We'll see. 1.e4 c5 2.c3 I didn't expect this! 2...Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 Most likely a transposition to the main line will occur. [4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 Nb6 This is one of the main lines. 7.Bb3 ] 4...e6 I like this line. Phillip has managed to catch Ron off guard during the whole match thus far. I'm sure this was a surprise. The line Ron has chosen tends to keep pieces on the board so a quick draw is unlikely. 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ Interesting, I'm not familiar with this line. 7.Bd2 Qa5 I'm not familiar with the plan behind these last 2 moves. 6...d6 was normal. 8.Bc4 [8.Bxb4 looks like a simple way to play. 8...Nxb4 can be answered by (8...Qxb4+ 9.Qd2 Qxd2+ 10.Nbxd2 ) 9.Nc3 ] 8...0-0 9.0-0 Keep in mind that Bc4 is probably never really a threat since Bc8 would potentially become very strong and the d5 pawn is hard to attack. 9...Nc6 10.Bxd5 Looks like Phillip may be playing for a lead in development. 10...Qxd5 11.Bxb4 Nxb4 Can white get a knight to d6 somehow? 12.a3 Waitzkin says " The theme of the mistake is to force. " I think it may apply here. I'm not sure white as much. Ah, the idea must be if 12...Nc6 13.Nc3 Qc4 14. Ne4. 12...Qa5 13.Qd2 Nc6 14.Nc3 I was wrong the position seems a bit irritating for black. 14...d6? What if exd6? Rd8 then Qf4 followed by Ne5 hitting f7. I don't think this was a good move. 15.exd6 Qf5 16.d5 Good move. Now white is just up a pawn. 16...Na5 17.Rad1 e5 Things are going way south for black. 18.Qe2 the Na5 is running short of squares. 18...f6 19. b4 Nb3 20. Qb2 Nd4 21. Nd4 ed4 22. Rd4 looks forced at first glance 18...Qg6 19.d7 Bxd7 20.Nxe5 Qd6 21.Nxd7 Qxd7 22.b4 White is still better after Rac8 but not as much as he was earlier. Black seems to have some drawing chances. 22...Qc8 23.Ne4 Qc4 [23...Nc4 was necessary.] 24.Qf3 Nb3 25.Nd6 Qc2 26.Qd3 Qc7 27.Nf5 Qd7 28.Ne3 Qa4 29.Rb1 Qxa3 30.Qxb3 And SC wins for the second year in a row. Great games by Lamby! We'll get you next year! 1-0

(4) Simpson,Ron (2347) - Lamby,Philipp (2240) [D07] Border Battle Asheboro, NC (4), 19.04.2009 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.d4 d5 4.cxd5 Qxd5 5.Nc3 Qa5 6.Bd2 e5 7.e4 Bb4 8.d5 Nd4 9.Nxe5 Nxe4 10.Nc4 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Qxd5 12.cxd4 Qxd4 13.Be3 Qc3+ 14.Nd2 0-0 15.Rc1 Qa5 16.Bd3 Bf5 17.Bxe4 Bxe4 18.Rc5 Qa3 19.Nxe4 Rfe8 20.Qc2 Qb4+ 21.Nd2 Rad8 22.Qc3 1-0